Azalea Yamadori

Jay

At present. I have three Azalea's collected from gardens. One I collected myself from my backyard, placed it into a modified Bonsai Soil and it is beginning to come around. I do not plan on touching this tree till next year.

The other two I acquired this week (Thank you Bart, if you are around). They were collected by another from a yard that was being cleared of these and other shrubs. The two trees are presently in very large plastic pots (10 gallon or so). They are planted in general garden soil. My question is being I am in zone 5b/6a should I leave these two trees in their present soil until next year? Is there any advantage to moving them to a better draining soil at this time. It is my gut feeling, that they have been 'messed with' enough and should be left alone, but what is your thoughts. Oh yes, they were collected at the beginning of May.

thanks and be well
Jay

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A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

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TreeBay

Just checking:

You collected them a few weeks ago and want to transplant them again??

Regards,

Matt

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Jay

Matt, basically.... yes that is the question.

I did not collect these trees. They were given to me. They are in a heavy garden soil mix, and in a very large container. I am asking the benefit of moving to a bonsai soil after such a short time and at a poor time of year to do it, vs leaving well enough alone. In my heart I believe that it is the best interest of these trees to leave them be. I'm just asking if that is agreed to be the correct thing to do.

Jay

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A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

clrosner

Jay:
If the trees were recently yanked out of the ground (or dug up), I suspect they have had enough stress for one season... Patience, is the keyword.

Even though the time to work on Azalesa is after they have flowered, which is May or June in your area (NY, I believe).

Try and borrow a book called "Satsuki" by Alexander Kennedy, ISBN 0952514508. I said borrow, since it is a little pricey, if you can find one. You should find many answers in this little book.

Good luck,

Carl L. Rosner

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Jay

Carl, good to see ya here. You advise is pretty much like what I was thinking. But, it never hurts to check. It is like the old saying when cutting wood, "Measure twice cut once", the more you check the more you learn. Patience is the most important tool, one that I am still attempting to master.

I will look out for and ask about the book you mentioned. I have a club show Saturday (Great Swamp) I will ask if anyone has a copy.

Jay

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A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

TreeBay

In general, Mid summer IS the ideal time to repot azalea - once. It's best to manage the soil mix you have now and look to buffering the pH some with an acidic fertilizer. Use Miracid or an organic fertilizer to do that.

I absolutely would not do it, but if you feel you must repot for the second time, I would just do one of the two trees. At least then if one of the two dies you will learn something either way.

Regards,

Matt

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Jay

Matt, thanks for your input. The reminder about the Miracid is a good one. I doubt that I will repot these, even one of them. As I said in the original post, the one I collected is doing well (for a recently collected tree) and the two new ones are just that new. I will report back in the fall on how they are doing and then again in 04 when they get their new homes.

J

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A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

Bart Thomas(deceased)

Hi, Jay.

The two azaleas are planted in Miracle Grow Potting Soil, so should not need transplanting until next year. I did this in order to maintain a humid environment to help rebuild the roots.

The real test is going to be if you get back budding.

Regards,

Bart